Building plywood coachroof: Advise please.

[rustybarge]

I was replacing the coach roof on an existing structure so the cross members etc were already there. The spacing was about 12 inches between cross beams from memory. The sheets were epoxied together and screwed down with s/s screws. I left an overlap all round which was taken off with a router. I epoxy coated the whole structure and then painted with two pack paint. It ended up as a very strong watertight structure...

I am deployed to Cyprus at the moment, so no pictures available.

Thanks John,

Your idea is a stronger version of this I found on the luvies-aboards forum a minute ago...... ( aren't they always).

["From experience grp sheet is the first choice if you can find a yard that can do it. The alternative we have seen is 3mm ply laminated two up to 6mm thickness and then given a coat of grp. During the lay up the ply is shaped to match the existing steel supports. Once fitted the structure was surprisingly rigid and effective. But still relatively light.
For interest I have a solid canopy over my wheel house and aft deck on my mobo. After frying my head a few times I decided I prefer the shade. It's also effective during the torrential rain when it hits.
Enjoy your journey."]

 

[TQA]

It looks like a really simple solution, and steel is extraordinarily strong, in fact I may be considerably lighter than timber uprights and a ply roof.

Will it handle gusty conditions without ripping?

The local fishing boats often use it and it seems to hold up for them as do almost all charter boats out here.